Difference
by Katheryn Mae
Summary: After a girl is found seems to resemble a younger version of Benson, she and Stabler both find themselves involved in the case more than they originally expected. EO.
1. Chapter One

** AN: First major SVU fic...any feedback is appreciated.**

**Summary: After a girl is found seems to resemble a younger version of Benson, she and Stabler both find themselves involved in the case more than they originally expected. EO. **

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_Please, hold up my heart, give me a reason for this empty silence._

Brown eyes gazed down at the hollow, empty set of purple contact lenses, her eyes searching the abnormal colored pair for an answer. She had her hands stuffed into her pockets, her mind only half registering the words being spoken to her, and she gave herself a small shake to bring herself back to the moment she was stuck in. As she raised her gaze from the cold stare on the paint, stained wood porch, she let out a small sigh, hoping that the others around her didn't hear her. But even of they did, she didn't care about it, and she lifted her head a bit, forcing herself to turn from the girl covered by the blanket.

"Where's Stabler?" Munch stood a ways off, a beat-up pencil tucked awkwardly behind his ear, and he stuffed the small spiral notepad into his jacket. "I called him just before I called you and he's much closer than you are." He rolled his eyes, making his way towards Benson, keeping his tone light, "I know he's stuck with goodness knows how many kids right now, but surely one of his older kids can watch them." His humor was light, and even though he attempted to ease the mood, Benson's nonchalant expression didn't change. Of course Munch knew that it wasn't the best time to be cracking a joke or two about their partner, but he wanted to wipe the slate of Benson's features.

"Someone say Stabler?" Elliot Stabler crossed the lawn, taking the front steps two at a time so he could stand besides his partner. He tugged the notepad from Munch's grasp and scanned the addresses written on the paper before looking towards Benson. "What happened Liv?" He fought to keep his own expression straight, and he passed the notepad back to Munch, "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

"Yeah, well, in this profession, half the witnesses who first see the body probably think they are seeing a ghost." Olivia Benson let her brown eyes turn to meet her partner's blue ones, and she let out another sigh before curling her fingers around Stabler's bicep, pulling him along the porch, towards the side deck. She glanced at him, remaining silent as he pulled his arm from her grasp, and managed to swallow her disgust as their shoes stopped inches from the pool of dried blood on the oak wood.

"God...she's got to be, what, seven?" Stabler looked sideways at Benson, not taking his eyes off the black morgue sheet, and he suddenly reached over, grabbing Benson's hand in his. "I see..." he trailed off, realizing why his partner was so pale, and after a few moments, he pulled her from the immediate scene. "How can you look at her?" He asked softly, his blue eyes locked on Benson's brown ones.

"She...she just becomes another victim then, that's when I have to tell myself that we aren't going to play God and stuff." Swallowing, Benson blinked sadly, looking away for Stabler, and she bit her lip. "Maybe I should sit this out, just cause it's a bit startling when you're stuck trying to find the murder and rapist of a perp who chose to go after someone who looks like your younger self." Giving her shoulders a shake, she looked back up to meet Stabler's eyes, before darting her gaze around at the rest of the units around the building.

"It's okay Liv, we do our best each and every time." Stabler tried to crack a smile, in hopes of reassuring her, and he looked down, before pressing his lips quickly against hers. "I think it's time to tell the rest of the unit about us." Blinking fondly at Benson, he froze as Munch gave a dry cough, and both Stabler and Benson jumped before whirling around to face their coworker.

"You two are going to have to do a lot of explaining to Cragen once we get back, because, well you both know the rules. I don't need to remind you every single rule about interpersonal relationships in the unit," he stopped at seeing the icy stare that Benson had directed at him, and Munch moved his gaze to his feet. Stabler looked between his partner and Munch, unsure of how to break to silence between them.

"Let's stop by the mother's office," Benson pressed a pink business card into Stabler's hand, then into Munch's. "The next door neighbor's teenage daughter had a spare key and was able to let us in. She got us the business card from the girl's mother's purse, said that her family watches the house when the family is away. How about you take her down to the station Munch?" She nodded towards where a slim brunette stood, looking nervously around, "She's Alexandra Simons, and she said he's been out in her backyard the whole afternoon, it's possible that she might have heard something. I mean, she's a teen, so who knows exactly how much attention she was truly paying to the surroundings outside her own property. She also claims that she's done some babysitting for Maria, our vic, even since she was born."

"Fine," Munch pocketed the business card and went to turn, "And you two, if neither of you talk to Cragen by tomorrow, then I will." He flickered his gaze between the two detectives, "I don't want to do that, but I know you two get wrapped in the cases sometimes, and the last thing that should happen is that your relationship comes out because you two get too wrapped up in the cases to talk about anything else." Wiping his hands on his jacket, he gave a quick shrug, "Just don't let it slip your minds."

"We know," Stabler glanced at Benson, "But we wanted to wait until we were both sure that we would actually be able to work out as a couple first." He twirled the business card between his fingers, "Let's head over to the mother's office, maybe we'll be able to bring her down to the hospital to see her daughter after ..." He paused and let his sentence trail off, seeing Benson dart across the lawn, her eyes narrowed in either anger or suspicion at the EMTs who stood by Alexandra.

"See you later then...?" Munch couldn't help but keep the laughter from his voice at the way Benson was so alive, watching in slight amusement as she bounced back and forth on the balls of her feet, talking with one of the EMTs. "I'll bring Alexandra down to the station, you and Benson talk to the mother, then drive her to the hospital they bring Maria too. I can phone either of you with the number once she's admitted." Heading off in the opposite direction, he waved Alexandra along after him, his eyes watching the action unfold.

Stabler headed across the lawn, his eyes trained on his partner's bouncing movements, and he couldn't help but let a smile slip onto his lips as she met him halfway across the lawn. Benson reflected the smile on Stabler's lips, sticking her hand into his face, waiting quietly as he looked between the black pen and the look on her face. Pulling the pen from Benson's clean hand, he copied the address and number onto the back of the mother's business card before looking up at her.

"It's the ex-husband," Benson shifted her feet, so she could look towards where her and Stabler's squad car sat. "Alexandra mentioned that the vic's parents just went through a bitter divorce, maybe it would make sense that we swing by his place after we see the mother." She nudged her partner lightly in the side of the ribs, her eyes hollow, and she let out a slow sigh, leaning against his shoulder for support.

Glancing around, Stabler dropped his hand to rest lightly on Benson's waist, and he turned his head slightly to look her in the eyes. He rested his chin on her forehead for a few moments before pulling back and glancing down at the Queens address where the mother's office was located, before returning the gentle nudge in Benson's ribs, "Let's go love."

"Okay," Looking down, Benson leaned into her partner's side, not bothered by the gaze she knew Munch had on the two of them, and she managed a quick wave at him and Alexandra Simons. She fingered the business card in Stabler's jacket pocket and let out a quiet sigh as pulled it out, looking at the printed ink. "You have neat handwriting," she commented, looking up at the side of his face, "Get much practice whenever you get yourself kicked to desk duty?"

"Cute Liv," Dropping his arm from around her waist, Stabler unlocked the car and circled it to her drivers side. He smiled at her pout and pulled open his door, catching the keys as Benson tossed them to him, "But no, I'm not going to open your door, that's only too suspicious now." Leaning over, he unlocked the passenger side door and glanced over at her as she dropped into the seat, burying her head in her hands. Sighing quietly, Stabler leaned over, his hand resting on Benson's knee, "Liv, can you look at me, please?"

"El … I'm not sure about this one," she swallowed, and when she turned her head towards him, her eyes shown with a few tears. Reaching for the hand that rested on her knee, she squeezed his hand back, using the back of her sleeve to wipe her eyes, "Just look at this case so far … she's almost like me. Hell, Elliot, I looked like her when I was that age." Pausing, she pushed the notes she had gotten into his lap, and leaned back against the seat, "Please, El, just take me back to the station, I'll stay on desk duty until this case is closed, even if it's a long one."

"I can't do that Liv," Elliot Stabler wrapped his arm around Benson's shoulders, looking her into the eyes, "You can do this case." He paused, "You've worked insane cases before, even ones as spooky as this one is, there's no reason that you can't do this one. I know she looks like how you did when you were her age, but that doesn't mean that you need to run from the case, and if you ask me, you _need_ to stay on the case." Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, Stabler started the engine of the squad car, and turned to look at Benson out of the corner of his eye, "If anything, you being this older woman, who looked like her daughter, then it will only help show that her daughter will be able to make it through."

"I'm not … going to be used like that Elliot," Benson pulled her hand from his, and she slouched in the chair, but she did manage to nod. "I will, though, agree to come with you to see the mother, it might be easier." She shifted so she could sit on her hands, and glanced up as Munch headed past them in his car, Alexandra Simons along for the ride. Sighing, she nodded, pulling her hands out from under her, and she grabbed Stabler's hand, "Let's go see Maria's mother."

"Okay love," Stabler smiled as Benson kept his hand in her grasp, and he nudged her gently, nodding towards the radio, and he eased his hand out of hers to turn it on. He let his fingers tap the volume button up just enough so the quiet rock music eased the tense mood in the car. After the song and volume was perfected, Stabler took Benson's hand again, letting their clasped hands rest on the edge of her seat, smiling. The two of them continued in silence, their hands clasped loosely, and waited out the ride to Maria's mother's office.


	2. Chapter Two

_Tell me what you want to hear, something that were like those years, sick of all the insincere; so I'm gonna give all my secrets away._

"Oh … God, are you sure it's her?" Almost immediately, Leanne Lison fell into the leather chair behind her desk, her perfectly filed nails flying across her lips. Her eyes darted between the two detectives in front of her desk, "How could you be so sure that it's my Maria?" After a second, her eyes narrowed, "How did you find where I work if you said you only discovered her about half an hour ago...?" She leaned back into the chair, her eyes trained on the two detectives, "Please."

"I'm so sorry," Benson dropped into one of the two chairs in front of Leanne's desk and leaned against the back of the chair, almost surprised to feel her partner's hands rest on her shoulders reassuringly. She looked up to meet the worried mother's eyes across from her, "Your daughter has been taken to St. Stephens and is going to be monitored by one of our other detectives until there is either enough evidence to believe that Maria is safe at home." Sighing, she reached for Stabler's hand as he dropped into the second chair besides her, "I'm sure that she should be healthy within a few days, because the medical examiner on site didn't seem to observe any sort of internal injuries and by then, we should be able to send her home unless there is going to be any sort investigation after."

"How did she … how did she look?" Leanne's hands shook as she reached for the phone, "And excuse me, let me call my assistant, I should cancel my appointments for this afternoon and get to the hospital so I can see my daughter." She dialed quietly and relayed the message to her assistant, then hung up the phone, her eyes resting on Stabler's hand on Benson's knee. "You two have kids?"

"Oh, we're not … married, just partners," Benson blushed furiously and lightly pushed her partner's hand off her knee, "But, uh, no I don't." She swallowed a bit, looking down as Stabler rested his hand back on her knee, "Why do you ask?" Almost unconsciously, she smiled as the woman across from her gave them a quick nod.

"Because … I want to know what you would do if this happened," Leanne looked down, nervous, and she twisted her hands in her lap. She took a deep breath, looking up at both Stabler and Benson, then stood, reaching for her purse under her desk, "Take me to the hospital, please … I want to see my daughter." Standing as well, Benson nudged Stabler lightly in the shoulder and they made their way out of the realtors' office, the three of them making their way to the squad car in front of the office.

The two detectives weren't surprised to already see a few lone media crews crowding further down the street, and quietly, both Benson and Stabler picked up their paces enough to distract the crowds from the nervous mother who was climbing into the back of their car. They circled the car and got into it, glancing back at Leanna Lison, before starting up the engine and making their way back to the station. "You know," Benson turned her gaze on the side of her partner's head, speaking to the woman in the backseat, "It might just be easier to have spoken in your office, there's going to be numerous questions from your coworkers and anyone from the media."

"I want to see my daughter though," Leanna leaned against the back of Stabler's seat, looking between the two detectives, "That's understandable, right?" She pressed her palms against the back of the leather seat and her gaze rested on Benson, "I won't be a suspect now, will I? Because, I know … then, if I end up being a suspect, then I can't be near her, right?"

"Right now," Benson shifted enough to look back at Leanne, "We can't pinpoint a suspect because the medical examiner who is going to continue to stop by the hospital hasn't been able to discover any sort of internal injuries on your daughter." She glanced to where Stabler' grip tightened on her knee, "But yes, if there is any sort of evidence that you may have tried to purposely injure your daughter, then your visits to the hospital may be controlled or monitored."

"Liv," Stabler nudged Benson lightly in the side, and shook his head slightly at her, "Don't focus on the evidence we don't know yet." He leaned back in the seat and cracked his knuckles against the steering wheel, then gave Benson's hand a quick squeeze before pulling into one of the few empty parking spots outside the hospital, "Okay, Leanne – Detective Benson and I will bring you up to where the EMTs should have brought your daughter."

"I … thank you," Leanne breathed an audible sigh of relief and leaned against the window of the car before pushing open the door. She stood, waiting until Benson and Stabler had circled around the car to stand besides her, "I hope that she's going to be okay." Waiting for a few moments, Leanne twisted her hands together, then let out a second sigh, "I want to go up now."

"We can," Glancing around, Benson grabbed Stabler's hand loosely and nodded, "Of course, we're going to need to talk to the attending in charge of monitoring your daughter, but you'll be able to see her." She leaned into her partner's side as they walked up to the floor where Tutuola was waiting with Maria and the attending, "We'll need to talk to Cragen later about us, once we get back to the station, right?"

"Oh … okay Liv," Surprised, Stabler gave Benson a nod, and he ran the back of his hand across his forehead, thoughtful. He swallowed, nervousness taking over, and he looked up, surprised to see Tutuola and Cragen standing in front of the door of Maria Lison's hospital room. "Shit, it might have to be sooner rather than later now," he pulled his hand from Benson's grasp and picked up his pace to meet his boss.

"You two," Cragen was faster, and his gaze flicked between Benson and Stabler. "Over here, now." He waved them aside after making sure that Maria's mother and Tutuola were introduced and heading into see Maria, and leaned against the wall. "Now, that wasn't some friendly partner hand-holding work there now, was it?"

"Listen," Stabler leaned across the wall opposite his boss, his gaze flickering between Benson and Cragen, "We both know the whole deal about personal relationships between coworkers." He ran his fingers through his hair, earning a nudge from Benson, and he looked up to meet Cragen's eyes again, "If you don't think that Olivia and I can continue working together, then that's fine, one of us can transfer to another unit."

"I don't know you two," Cragen twirled his badge between his fingers, "I trusted you two well enough to expect that the two of you could work together without allowing you two to pursue a personal relationship." He looked down, in thought, and let out a sigh, replacing his badge on his coat pocket, "I suppose that I can give you two a trial run, I guess I could call it, and after two weeks, I can see how it changes your professional relationship."

"Cragen," Benson copied his actions, her badge tucked between her fingers and she let a faint smile slip onto her features as Stabler wrapped a loose arm around her waist, "With all due respect, Elliot and I have worked together for nearly fifteen years, and not once have either of us considered a personal relationship until almost two weeks ago." She glanced down briefly, "I understand that interpersonal relationships between coworkers aren't always approved of and such, but I don't feel that you need to keep your two week trial run or whatever you want to call it. Elliot and I have been together almost two weeks now, don't you think that those two weeks are enough, then of course you can continue to observe us … but I suppose you know what I'm trying to say."

"I know exactly what you're saying Benson and I suppose I can take it into consideration," Cragen gave a shrug and turned to look over where Tutuola and Leanne were coming out of the hospital room. He strode from where he, Benson and Stabler had been talking, leaving the two detectives to exchange slightly nervous and surprised glances.

"We'll talk tonight Liv, I want to make time for us to talk over some sort of dinner tonight, even if it's some takeout or whatever." Smiling, Stabler dropped a quick kiss to Benson's forehead, then headed over to where Tutuola, Maria and Cragen waited outside the hospital room. He glanced over and after a few moments, Benson followed them over to where the rest of them were standing.

"I … I have to thank you all detectives," Leanne Lison twisted her hands again, and she turned her gaze on each of the four detectives before looking back down at her hands. "But I should … get home and try and get in contact with my ex-husband so he can come down … right?"

"I can do that," Finn Tutuola looked down at his phone, dialing Munch's desk number, "I'll see you guys back at the precinct." He strode down the hallway, then halfway down, he turned and headed back, looking between Benson and Stabler, "You two better not get all lovey on us now, got it?" Laughing softly, he looked up at Cragen, "And you're okay with this?"

"Just do your job Finn," Stabler smacked Tutuola's shoulder lightly, his arm already around Benson's waist again, "We'll see you back at the station later." He shrugged and pulled his phone from his pocket, flipping it open, "Stabler. Oh … we'll head down there now Munch, thanks." Replacing the phone in his pocket, he glanced at Benson, "Munch has some info from the neighbor's daughter that we should hear."

"Then I'll drive Mrs. Lison home," Cragen nudged the woman standing next to him lightly, "You two head back to see what Munch wants, and keep your hands off each other if possible." He nodded as Leanne Lison looked between the two detectives she had come to the hospital with then to Cragen, "Are you ready to head out back to your place now Mrs. Lison? We can contact you if we need anything else." Leanne Lison nodded and she looked up at Cragen, nodding, before the two of them headed from the hospital, leaving Benson and Stabler alone in the hall outside Maria Lison's hospital room.


	3. Chapter Three

_So why don't you and I get together, take all the world and be together forever?_

Settling in the leather chair, Elliot Stabler leaned against the back, balancing a wine glass in one hand, resting his feet on the footstool. He loosened the tie around his neck enough to undo the top button on his shirt and looked up at his partner, who was settled on the half of the footstool that his feet weren't taking up, "I don't see you being very into fancy wine types." Laughing, he set the wine glass aside and leaned over enough to pull the footstool closer, meeting Benson's eyes, "Thank goodness Cragen is willing to give us a chance."

"I know that, but even so, I think that we would have managed to keep working together as coworkers." Benson leaned back against the arm of the leather chair, turning her gaze on her partner, "Elliot, it's perfectly fine for the two of us to continue to work as just friends, right?" She let a smile curl onto her lips, "Or after one kiss, have you decided that we can never be anything more than just friends." Smirking, she leaned forwards and brushed her lips teasingly against Stabler's, "Right?"

"Like it or not," Stabler curled his arm around Benson's waist and pulled her onto the chair next to him, "You're not going to leave the unit no matter what Cragen believes about our personal relationship. If he thinks that one of us should leave because of our relationship, then it would be best for me to leave, I don't want you to pick up and transfer." He glanced down to look into Benson's eyes for a few moments, before looking back up as she opened her mouth to protest, "Don't you even think about arguing over who would end up transferring."

"But I don't want you to transfer either," Benson shifted to glance up at her partner and curled against his side. "Besides, Elliot, we don't need to bring this up until we know how Cragen takes the news of our personal relationship; for all we know, he might agree with us being able to work together as partners and still keep our personal relationship out of the office." She smiled a bit and rested her head on his chest, lacing her fingers with his, "It's no use to worry about this, especially because I also know that Cragen won't dare to risk loosing two of his best detectives over our personal relationship, he's not that stupid."

Pulling Benson into his arms loosely, Stabler rested his head on her shoulder, a smile appearing on his lips as well, "I think you're right about that one, Cragen knows that we can work together even if we're also together, we managed it for two weeks without anyone knowing." He dropped a gentle kiss to Benson's shoulder, then a second to her neck, "I love you Liv."

"I love you too," Smiling, Benson snuggled against Stabler's chest more, then pressed her lips against his quietly. She sighed, twirling her silver ring around her finger, and looked at their clasped hands, "Do you think it's weird that I'm a bit spooked by this case? I mean, with the fact that, physically, this girl is basically a younger version of me … it's almost as if she was supposed to end up with us." Glancing up, her eyes darted to where her phone sat across the room, and she let out a sigh, "I'll get it."

"Okay," Stabler released Benson from his grasp, slightly unwillingly, and leaned back in the chair, reaching for the wine glass as she crossed the room silently. He folded his arms across his chest as the mention of his captain's name, and stood, going to gather his jacket, trying to internally list the many possible ways that Cragen would be punished by him for ruining his night with Benson. Pulling on the jacket, he tucked his hands into his pockets as his partner hung up the phone and looked over at her, "Cragen called us in?"

"Why else?" Benson returned the phone to the cradle and she let out a quiet laugh, "He doesn't constantly check up on his staff just because he feels the need to." She grabbed her own jacket, nudging Stabler in the side, a teasing smirk in her eyes, "I know your upset because your night with me got cut short, but you're going to live." Laughing, she wrapped an arm around Stabler's shoulder, resting her head against his shoulder briefly, "Let's go, leave your wine for now." Tugging his hand, she pulled him from the apartment and laughed at the expression on his face, "Oh stop it El, it's fine to be annoyed."

"Okay, okay," Laughing, Stabler let go of his partner's waist and turned his gaze on the door as they headed to the entrance. Pulling open the door, he frowned at the dark hall and wrapped his arm loosely around Benson's waist again as she locked the door of her apartment behind them. He pulled out his phone as it buzzed again, and putting it to his ear, he was surprised to hear Leanne Lison's voice on the other line, "Hello? Mrs. Lison?" He stopped at the first words out of her mouth, and nudged Benson in the side, urging her to pick up her walking pace as well too. "Yes, we have his address on file … Detective Benson and I can drive over there to see if he will answer his door." As Mrs. Lison hung up, Stabler turned his head to look over at Benson, who was already standing by the elevator, and he pressed the button roughly, "Mrs. Lison can't reach her husband, he was supposed to have been with Maria last; she gave me an office on the Upper West Side and said that there's always someone at the front desk. We'll see if we can find out just about how long he left his daughter alone."

_Markmans Investments. Corner of Old Broadway and Martin Luther King Blvd._

"So this is the place," Benson strode down the white marble hallway, her outfit looking rather out of place in the straightjacket businesses and she leaned casually against the front desk, her eyes darting across the counter to the small Acer netbook. Turning her head to Stabler, she nearly jumped when she stopped his face inches from hers, and she pulled back, her eyes narrowed. "And what did Leanne say about the desk being staffed at all hours?"

"The woman's on a break," Stabler let out a quiet laugh and pointed his finger towards a small white placard on the top of the oak desk. He tucked his badge into his belt, glancing down the hall, and he nodded, pulling Benson to the edge of the counter, to nod at the crack of light under one of the doors, "That light's on, let's go see who's there." Curling his fingers around Benson's wrist, he half-dragged her down the hallway, knowing that if the woman who worked behind the desk was gone, then it could only cause problems if she had been gone long. Stopping outside the closed door, Stabler gave a quick nod, then knocked twice.

"Come in?" The voice was clear, and exactly how Benson expected a father who was avoiding his family to sound, exhausted and laced with worry. She nudged the door open with her foot, her and Stabler crossing the room, pace for pace, not bothering to say anything until they stood in front of the desk in the room. Tapping his badge against the side of the large-screened Mac desktop, Stabler rested his hands on the desk, his eyes scanning the papers on the desk, "None of these seem to have anything to do with investments."

"Who the hell are you?" Jumping backwards, the man at the desk looked between Benson and Stabler, then his eyes fell on the two police badges in front of him. He straightened the papers on his desk, stuffing them recklessly into a folder, and he frowned up at the two detectives, "What do you want?"

"Right now," Benson repined her badge onto her belt, and glanced up to where Stabler was pacing the room behind her, "We need to know what we're doing at work, at eleven-thirty at night, after your wife has been trying to get in contact with you all afternoon." She reached for the papers that Adam Lison had tried to tuck back into the folder and smirked down as she rifled through them, "Divorce papers?" Turning to look at Stabler, she held up the papers, "Hey El, you think this might be a reason he's avoiding his wife's calls?"

"It might be, but you know, it could also be a good coverup for being here all night," Crossing the room, Stabler flicked through them, then he looked up at Benson. "Liv, look at this." He passed the papers back to his partner, pointing to the names on the spouse's line, "That's not Leanne's last name." Folding the paper back up into thirds, he tucked it into his jacket pocket, "We'll be bringing this with us, we'll show it to your wife and see if she recognizes the signature on this form."

"No … don't do that, she doesn't know that I'm filing for divorce yet, she can't …" Trailing off, Adam Lison stood and reached out his hand for the divorce papers. "Leanne never changed her last name, she didn't want her parents to know I was her husband, they've never met me, see? They know Leanne's married, but she kept her maiden name so when they sent mail to our house, they wouldn't wonder." He turned his eyes onto Stabler, "Don't show my wife those papers...please. What ever you guys want from me, I'll do it."

"Well then," Stabler patted the jacket pocket, "That's not going to happen right yet, you need to come down to our station and give us an actual statement." He turned in a circle around the room, and pointed up to where the thin black security camera pointed to where they stood."Do you happen to have the key to wherever your video surveillance equipment is? We're going to need to confirm that you've been here all day today and tonight."

"For what?" Adam looked wildly between the two detectives, his eyes alight with fire and he fumbled at the papers on the desk, "Am I under arrest?" He grabbed a leather address book from the top dresser and flipped through it, ripping out one of the back pages from the book, "And what for?"

"Well you would know," Benson looked down at the paper that Adam passed her, "If you bothered to answer your phone when your wife was calling." Folding the paper into a square, she tucked it into her own jacket pocket, then nudged Stabler in the side, "Phone number for a lawyer." Turning back to face Adam, she looked him up and down, "Let's go, you can explain to your wife at our station why you've been ignoring her calls."

* * *

**AN: Hope you enjoyed chapter three! :D **

**My next update might be a bit slower since the first semester is finishing up in the nest week, and my mom is going to Boston, MA in a week for almost two months. So, obviously, I'm going to be busy. **

**x**


	4. Chapter Four

_It's a beautiful night, we're looking for something dumb to do; hey Benson, I think I wanna marry you._

The suited man paced the interrogation room nervously, his face red from either anger or embarrassment, and he ignored the chair in front of him. As he paced, Adam Lison twisted his sweaty hands together, then wiped them on his pant legs before repeating the process all over again. At one point, he stopped, peering at the one-way mirror, either to check out his reflection or glare at the two detectives behind the mirror.

"Why aren't Benson or Stabler doing this?" Fin Tutuola folded his arms across his chest, eying the beefy man who paced the interrogation room. "I was here, you were with ESU at the house, then came here too while Benson and Stabler got the chance to speak with both parents." He looked around, "And where is Cragen in all of this?"

"He's at Mercy," Tossing a sealed evidence bag to his partner, John Munch turned his own gaze on Adam Lison, "The girl's mother is badgering him with every sort of question imaginable. And this interrogation is on us; apparently Warner had something for Benson and Stabler on the girl." He stopped, seeing the two detectives in question heading towards them, both of them nearly sprinting across the room.

"Who's going in to question him?" Stabler was first to speak when he and Benson reached their coworkers. He held up a file folder and a second evidence bag which contained a half empty bottle of prescription sleeping pills, "Because, right now, he's our prime suspect." Opening the file folder, he held out a handful of screenshots of security footage, "There are all from the video surveillance outside the front entrance of Lison's insurance agency, and get him to focus on the timestamps and his clothing." He paused and handed the folder to Munch, then held up the evidence bag with the pill bottle in it, ""And these pills were found in the bedside table in Maria's room, have him explain why they're prescribed to him yet were in her room."

"Why can't you and Benson do it?" Munch too the bottle of pills that was in the evidence bag, "After all, you guys were the one who spoke to both parents." He looked between the two detectives, "We can go do whatever you two need to do, because our questions will be pointless since we know nothing more than what you both tell us about your meetings with Maria's parents."

"Actually," Benson cut him off, "You can't. I'm due to testify in court in about forty minutes and should head out now if I want to be on time." She gave an apologetic look to both detectives, "I bet Elliot can tell you what we learned before you guys head in." Nudging Stabler in the ribs, she eyed him, "And you make sure that you also get the list of employees that Lison's agency kept on payroll from his assistant, because by the time I'm back I want to know if anyone saw him leave the building or if he just left the agency's surveillance range." Giving him what she hoped was a stern glare; Benson made her way back towards the elevators.

"Okay," Stabler tore his eyes away from Benson's retreating form as she rounded the corner and looked down at the photographs in his hand. "Leanne Lison arrived at her office around six this morning, which was confirmed by coworkers and security footage at the building entrance. The neighbor calls us around noon, and by the amount of blood Maria lost, plus how much of the sleeping pills had been absorbed into her blood, Warner put her attack at about two hours before we were called on scene. If it hadn't been for the thick blanket that Maria was wrapped in, then Warner thinks that she would have bled out from the cuts on her side. But, where the husband comes into play is the fact that he and Mrs. Lison have been separated for about two months and this weekend, it was Adam's responsibility to have his daughter, so Maria shouldn't have even been at the mother's house. And, also, the video cameras at Lison's agency caught him leaving around eight-thirty and then show him returning about two hours later in a different suit." He looked between Munch and Fin, "If one of you can wait for the list that Lison's assistant is faxing over, then I'll go on in and interrogate this bastard."

"Got it," Munch headed back towards the fax machine, only more surprised when their captain and former A.D.A. Alexandra Cabot, entered the precinct. He pointed both of them in Stabler and Tutuola's direction, the surprise of seeing Alexandra Cabot alive and back in their precinct, not to mention, as an assistant district attorney again, written across his face.

"Alex?" Stabler turned, the click of Alex's heels having given her away slightly. He looked her over quickly, still surprised that she was returning to be their A.D.A. a third time, "You're the replacement A.D.A. for Hardwicke?" Looking to Cragen for an answer, he only shrugged when his captain didn't reply, "I'm surprised you came back, you seemed like you wanted to leave us forever last time."

"It's a long story," Alex looked around, "Of course not much seems to have changed while I was gone." She nodded to where Adam Lison was beginning to look awfully bored in the interrogation room, "Go do your job, I should go down to my office soon anyways." She glanced over at Fin and stopped, "Can you brief me on the case quickly first?"

"And I'll go interrogate this bastard," Stabler rifled through the file folders, then looked up at Fin, "Do you mind pulling Lison's records for me?" With an attitude like the one he gave Liv and I earlier, I'm betting he has some sort of rap sheet hanging over his head." After Fin's nod, Stabler made his way into the interrogation room, file folder and evidence bag in hand.

"Why the hell are you treating me like some dammed criminal?" Adam Lison growled from where he stood in the corner, not bothering to look over at Stabler, "I didn't hurt my daughter if that's what you're thinking!" He looked around wildly as the pills in the bottle clinked against one another, "Those are mine!" Making a grab for the bag, he stared at the bottle, "Why do you have these…? They're mine … you had no right…!" He trailed off, looking confused.

"Actually, when you purposely left them in your daughter's possession, in her bedroom, then we do have a right to them." Stabler dropped the evidence bag onto the table, "So explain why you tried to kill your own daughter with them." He eyed Lison, "And don't feed me some sort of bull, I have five kids of my own, I know every lie in the books."

"I … I didn't," Adam stammered, looking terrified, "I've been working ever since I dropped Maria off at her mother's last night." He frowned, "You don't have any evidence that you can hold against me, unless it's being an honorable employee at work."

"That is if you can provide us with an explanation or an alibi between eight-thirty and eleven this morning." Stabler spread out the pictures from the security camera out in front of Lison, "Because, unless you have an identical twin working in your office, then that's you leaving at eight twenty-nine this morning." He pointed to another screen capture, "And look, when you got back around eleven this morning, you had to change your suit, what happened to the one you were wearing this morning?" Leaning forwards on his hands, Stabler eyed Adam quietly, "Did you have to wash it because you couldn't stand to see the sight of your daughter's blood all over the fabric?"

"N…no! I went home, I've been seeing some … she left for Quebec this morning on business. We … uh … got distracted before I drove her to the airport," Lison looked down at his hands, "Angelique's flight left at ten-thirty this morning, I saw her off at the gate. You can check the footage! I was there."

"Look mister," Stabler leaned forwards on his hands even more, not caring if Cragen, or IAB, or whoever the hell would give him hell for his and Benson's relationship when they were found out, "I'm dating my partner who you met this morning, but we don't 'get distracted' enough to tear each others clothing into pieces every time we feel like going at it." He narrowed his eyes, "So what really happened at your place?"

Adam Lison's eyes widened, "You're dating a coworker?" He let the smile curve onto his lips, "You know that's not allowed." At the expression on Stabler's face, Adam laughed long and hard, "You've not special just because you're the panty police, you should know better than that now."

"Hey Stabler," the door opened, and Stabler turned to face Cabot, "Get over here." She waved him back onto the other side of the glass, shutting the door behind the two of them. "What the hell are you doing bringing up your personal life in an interrogation? He could use the fact that you and Olivia are together to throw anything either of you got down the drain."

"Whoa, Alex, calm down," Stabler let out a quiet laugh at Alex's worry, "I brought up Liv and I because it's relevant to the interrogation. This girlfriend he's talking about is his assistant, and his assistant just faxed Munch the employee list. Lison's obviously lying since the list should have been faxed from his office," he leaned out the door, yelling at Munch to check the address of the fax number. "So far, all we've gotten from Lison are lies."

"And so is his past," Fin called over to them, "I just got this off Lison's records, he's an ex-TARU employee. He got fired two years back for using the equipment for personal use, he apparently put traces on his wife's phone and credit cars."

"I guess we'll be calling a few more people today," Stabler looked at Alex, "Do you think you can spare the time to finish sitting in on this interrogation with me? Lison is going to need a lawyer and its best if we're prepared."

Alexandra Cabot didn't need to be told twice, she took the employee list from Munch and a print-out of Lison's rap sheet from Fin before she followed Stabler back into the interrogation room.

* * *

**AN: So Cabot's the ADA again! And she's not the only one that'll be in this story, I'm going to try and work a few more of the ADAs into the plotline. Also, expect a surprise visit from someone special in Benson's life soon! **


	5. Chapter Five

_Oh all the streetlights, they know your name; out in the moonlight, don't you feel no shame. Oh don't you worry, you little flame, baby all the streetlights, they know your name._

"This is absolutely uncalled for Chief!" Captain Donald Cragen couldn't help but be annoyed, and for one in his life, he wasn't worried about defying his superior. "I understand your concerns about Detectives Benson and Stabler's romantic relationship, but it would be a terrible loss to the NYPD as a whole to split the two of them up. I consulted a psychiatrist from the FBI a few years back, and she advised that splitting the two of them up for any reason would only result in the NYPD losing both of them to our service."

"Donald, you know the rules as well as any of your fellow offices, and members of the same precinct are forbidden without a consultation from IAB." Stopping, the chief unfolded his arms, "I can see your concerns about the NYPD losing two of your best detectives, but the same rules apply for every member of the squad, no matter the circumstance. For now, I'm going to ask that you inform both Detectives Benson and Stabler that I expect them at 1PP tomorrow at eleven to consult with IAB." He turned, "Good afternoon Don," and without another glance at any of the other detectives in the 1-6, he strode from the building.

Don Cragen let out a short sigh of relief, glad that IAB wasn't forcing him to split Benson and Stabler up yet, and he headed towards where Benson had paused by her desk on returning from court. "Everything go over well?" Cragen stopped on Stabler's side of the desk, looking across the two desks at his detective, "Judge Donnelley herself was the prosecutor for the care, right?"

"She was," Benson shrugged off her jacket, "But the case itself is a mess, the defense brought in new evidence and we were completely blindsided by it." She looked around, her eyes obviously searching for a sign that her partner was anywhere nearby, "Is Elliot still interrogating Lison?"

"Just finished actually," Stabler entered the room, heading from the interrogation rooms, and after a nod at Cragen, he stopped by Benson's side and took her hand in his loosely. "He clammed up soon after I brought Alex into the room, turns out he's an ex-TARU worker, and once he realized that we knew he was lying about his relationship with Angelique, he didn't say a thing." Shrugging, he dropped Benson's hand and took a swig of Munch's coffee, needing anything to keep him going, "Want me to brief you on the rest of the info you missed or let you finish up those case reports first?"

"Mhm, brief me on what I missed while I search for Angelique's address, I don't think it's likely that she would be working this late." Benson dropped herself into her desk and signed onto her computer, "The last thing I want to do is get a worse headache by staring at case reports at seven at night."

"Well, he let his offices around eight-thirty this morning and got back around eleven, he claims he was with his assistant-slash-girlfriend Angelique, but her plane left at seven-thirty this morning so he didn't see her off at the airport like he planned to. Though, Munch got called down to 1PP and it turned out that Lison was driving a stolen Buick and was caught running a light, so now the car's being scanned for Maria's prints now." He leaned on the back of Benson's chair, scanning the computer screen over his partner's shoulder, "There's Angelique's address." Scribbling it down, he nudged her shoulder, "Let's go."

"But Elliot, she had a plane to Quebec at seven this morning, I doubt that she would already be back in the city," Benson frowned and looked at her partner out of the corner of her eye. "Explain Stabler."

"She never got on that plane." Teasingly, Stabler rolled his eyes in mock annoyance, "For goodness sakes, you're no rookie Benson, stop acting like one." He reached for her elbow, knowing that Cragen would have a fit if he held her hand in the precinct, and tugged Benson to her feet, "Let's get going."

"Fine, fine Stabler, you win." Benson pulled her elbow from her partner's grasp, and once they rounded the corner out of Cragen's line of view, she grabbed her partner's hand in her own. Gripping it, she stopped walking and turned to look at him, "I can't do this, I can't … not this case. She … she looks like me, hell, I felt like I was looking at _myself_. God damn El, don't let me do this to myself."

"Whoa, slow down Liv," Surprised, Elliot Stabler curled an arm around his partner, and girlfriend's, shoulders. He pulled her against his side and let out a long sigh, "Consequences be damned when Cragen knows we let our guard slip, I want you to talk to me Liv. Talk to me about whatever is running through your mind."

"You know El, the same stuff that always runs through my mind when the perp goes after a child, except this time, it feels like Maria and I are one. Like that this perp really wanted to target _me_." Sighing loudly, Benson gave herself a shake, "Dammit, Cragen's voice is coming this way, what should we tell him about the case?"

"That you're off it," Stabler nodded firmly, his eyes catching their boss' as he rounded the corner, and he kept his arm securely around Benson's shoulders. "Capt, don't know if you overheard any of Liv's and my conversation, but she wants to step off the case."

"Actually, you both are." Cragen's face was unreadable, but something in his voice chilled both detectives' at his words. "You're too closely related to the case now, I can't … I'm sorry." He swallowed, avoiding both Benson and Stabler's gazes, "The perp hit again."

"Who?" Stabler's voice was something between a growl and strangled whisper, and he tightened his grip on Benson's shoulder.

"Alexandra Cabot," Cragen's voice was a stage whisper, and he remained motionless as Benson swayed slightly. His eyes flicked between the two detectives, ignoring the fact that Stabler's arm had wound its way around Benson's waist, "She was attacked in Queens, so we let their unit take over, it's the only …"

"No it's not," Benson let out a quiet growl, "And Alex is still in Witness Protection, so what the hell is she doing in New York?" She looked to her partner for help, "Munch and Fin didn't know that Alex was in the program, can't they take over the case then?"

"It wasn't my choice," Cragen gave a shrug; "It's IAB breathing down our necks again. Tucker said that you two knew about Alex being in Witness Protection, so he requested that I reassign the case to Queens SVU." He rolled his eyes at his two detectives, "Why is it as soon as I get IAB off my back about you two then somehow, they get right back onto our backs because of something you two are connected to?"

"Don't blame us," Benson stuck out her lower lip in a mock pout, "But do tell us which hospital they brought Alex too, and when we can go talk to Tucker about bringing the case back to, at least, Munch and Fin." She folded her arms across her chest, "I get that Stabler and I are off the case, but Munch and Fin shouldn't be too. They weren't involved."

"We are now," Munch trooped into the room, dropping his jacket in the back of his chair, "And don't bother trying to convince Tucker that Fin and I can take over the case. He's already annoyed enough at our unit cause of you and Stabler, we don't need to get him in a worse mood because of us trying to steal Alex's case back."

"It's not just Alex's case!" Stabler snapped, "Didn't you tell him that?" He frowned, "We have another victim, with the same perp, and the first one was in our jurisdiction. If anything, we should be working _with_ Queens on this one." Turning on Cragen, his frown deepened, "And I thought Tucker was okay with Liv and I being together as long as we kept our relationship at work strictly professional, why the hell is he telling Munch something different?"

"Because he isn't completely convinced you two can work together," Cragen let out a sigh, "I told you two that IAB was okay with it because I got Tucker to back off you two for now. But now with Alex being a second vic, I'm sure he's just concerned that you two might forget your place." He reached for a pen and paper and scribbled down the room number Alex was in, "Go find your friend, and stay with her, see if you can get her to talk to you guys as well."


End file.
